After listening to testimony from a child and her mother, accusing him of molesting the child, Webster Trent Cochran, a native of Sallis, took the stand in his own defense during a one-day trial in Attala County Circuit Court Monday.
Cochran was charged with sexual battery of a child under the age of 14 in relation to incidents that allegedly took place at the Sallis home of his parents during a single weekend in February 2017.
When the mother of the child learned of the accusations within days of the alleged incidents, she took the girl to the police and to seek medical treatment. The nurse specialist who examined the child told the court, however, that what she witnessed during a physcial exam of the child was not conclusively the result of sexual abuse.
Cochran’s mother testifed she did not believe it was possible for the events to have occurred in her home, and a number of family friends testified regarding his character during the defense presentation.
Cochran himself took the stand and denied each of the allegations one-by-one as they were enumerated by his defense attorney, Rosalind Jordan.
Following a short period of deliberation, the jury unanimously voted that Cochran’s guilt had not been proven beyond a reasonable doubt by the state.
The alleged victim and her mother were not in the courtroom when the verdict was read.
